“It Takes A Man!” (2 Samuel 12:13a)

S-1369-4SAP/C 6/16/2013 Hymns: (O) #324 vv. 1-4; (S) #242; (C) #324 vv. 5-8

Texts: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-14; Galatians 2:15-21; 3:10-14; Luke 7:36-8:3

Theme: “It Takes A Man!” (2 Samuel 12:13a)

Question: “Which man would you like to emulate?” Armour, SD

Faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia! The text for the fourth Sunday after Pentecost is from the O. T. lesson: “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’” (2 Samuel 12:13a).

INTRODUCTION: In Nomine Iesu.

Saints in Christ, today we observe and celebrate Father’s Day. But what is it that makes a man, “A MAN”? In our twisted and warped world, many men get the wrong view of manhood. They think that if you really want to be a man, you should climb over anyone and everyone, mount the ladder of success, accumulate great wealth, drive the fancy car and have a big house. To be a man, means you have the right job, live in the right neighborhood and wear the right clothes. But that is the wrong view of manhood.

Sadly, many men are getting the wrong message. Often on TV and in movies fathers are always portrayed in a negative or stupid way. If you observe our culture and compare it to the Scriptures you will notice one important fact, we have lost the Biblical view of “manhood”. Many men have lost the responsibility to be the spiritual leaders in their homes. But when the Man-God Jesus Christ walked this earth He taught us saying, “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Mt. 7:16). Certainly you will know them by their fruits. PAUSE.

You have heard this statement. “Anyone can be a father but it takes a Real Man to be a dad.” Today, in the Old Testament lesson, we read of an encounter between the prophet Nathan (whose name means God gave), and King David about his improper behavior of seducing Bathsheba and killing her husband Uriah.

The Lord sent His prophet Nathan to stand before the king and tell him, what he has done was an abomination in God’s sight. Nathan knowing full well if he tells the king about his sin, he is putting his life on the line. None-the-less, he was inspired to be courageous, compassionate, and Christ-centered. In Christ never have we had a more courageous person.

David having been killed by the Law the Holy Spirit leads him to confess his sins to God. If you know Scripture well, you know that the sin that David committed as an adulterer and a murderer brought heavy pain to his heart. Sorrowing over what he had done, he was moved to write Psalm 51, a Psalm of confession of sins.

What we have in this encounter is a godly example of what a real man is—one who doesn’t pass the buck but owns up to his sins and says, “I have sinned! I have brought shame and dishonor upon my God! I am the one who disobeyed God and His Word! I am sorry!!!” That’s the kind of father our children needs. They need to know that we are not perfect, but sinners who have been made perfect through Christ our Savior.

Yes, we father’s are not perfect. So let us stop pretending we are. Let us stop pretending to be something we are not. Instead, in humility, may we be honest and declare that we sin often against our Savior, and we hurt our families and loved ones greatly. PAUSE.

Some of you here carry the wounds of abusive fathers: fathers who through verbal or emotional, maybe even physical abuse inflicted wounds that to this day you carry around, adversely affecting all your relationships. Perhaps even to this day you’re still trying to live up to his expectations, striving to please him, hoping that one day you’ll be the favored child that you never could be growing up.

Deep wounds come from many places—fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and even close friends. Some of you know what it is like to be wounded by your pastor. Good years were spent working together in ministry, building lives together, building the Lord’s church together, but you feel betrayed. Some of you are carrying around deep wounds that you’ve never gotten over. All it takes is for a name to come up and you get all knotted up inside. It may be some other spiritual leader. A brother or sister in the church shoots off at the mouth something that you offered in confidence, and your trust is broken.

As children of God we are taught to practice forgiveness—to forgive them and love them. It cannot be said more plainly than that. Regardless of how badly you’ve been hurt, and regardless of who has inflicted that hurt, our privilege and joy is to forgive them and love them.

I’m not suggesting that it is easy. It takes a big man to forgive someone, or perhaps I should say it takes a big person to forgive someone. Little people carry grudges. Little people allow themselves to be eaten away with bitterness, but the true giants in God’s eyes are those who can follow the example of Christ who spoke to those who pierced and crucified Him on Calvary’s cross, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34).

We, all, have much to learn from our Savior, the Man-God who forgives us our sins daily. Because we have tasted His love and forgiveness firsthand, we learn from Him and imitate His actions. It takes a man to forgive. It takes a man to humble himself before the Lord Almighty. But it takes a big man to acknowledge he has sinned and done evil in the sight of the Lord. PAUSE.

Indeed it takes a man not to pass the buck or blame someone else. In today’s text we heard of David, the king of Israel, that he had sinned against God. Once the Word of the Lord brought his sin to light, he confessed his sins. And Nathan, God’s mouth-piece spoke words of absolution and healing to that sinner. As soon as David confessed his sins, God forgave him and filled him with grace and peace.

It is important for us to know the value of confessing our sins. We learn much from this text in that God despises sin and will deal with sin. To be sure, there are temporal consequences for all of our sins; just as it was in David’s case. The son that Bathsheba was carrying died. But there are NO eternal consequences for sin. Christ has taken care of that. He is the Man who humbled Himself to the point of death—a death on a cross.

Real manhood is rooted in the Man Jesus Christ Paul tells us in 1 Tim. 2:5-6. His love moves us to be courageous and confess our sins. It moves us to lay down our lives for others. His love moves us to be compassionate. The Good Samaritan was courageous and compassionate. Christ is our Savior but also our Example par excellent in what a real man looks like. In the garden Adam had a failure in manhood as well as in faith and love.

God the Father sent His Son into the world so that we would see what a man is supposed to look like. And the Word became flesh… and the Word became a true man… let this mindset be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Christ’s love moves us to be real men and women of faith rooted and grounded in His Word. Paul speaks as a father in Christ. Every man may not be a biological father but we are all to grow into the full manhood of Christ. PAUSE.

There is a new slang today that says, “Man up!” Be a man. Micah 6:8 says: “What does God require of you O man, (hint—man up) but to walk humbly, show loving kindness, and compassion.” If any man is in Christ they are a real man as well as a new creature. The world says, “Man up!” and drink the right kind of beer drive the right kind of car, and dress outwardly the right kind of way. The Bible says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” In Him Peter, James, John, and others became real men. They were around Jesus.

In John 19:5 we hear the words of the earthly king accusing and condemning Jesus saying, “Behold the Man!” Yes, behold Him led to the slaughter for you. Behold Him going the way of suffering and pain for you. Behold Him stripped naked for you. Behold Him hanging on the cross for you. Behold Him dying for you. And yes, behold Him rising from the grave for you. Because He who is King eternal was willing to be the Man God wanted Him to be, you and I receive grace upon grace, mercy and forgiveness is poured upon us. For sure it takes A Man—the Man Christ Jesus to save us and make us His people forever. Amen.

Now the peace…

SOLI DEO GLORIA.

Not your desire, but MY Will!”

S‑1088 12/21/2008 4SMIA/3B Hymns: (O)#102, #76; #66; #647; #103; #127; (C)87

Texts: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

Theme: “Not your desire, but MY Will!” 2 Sam. 7:5,11b, 16

Armour, SD. SOLI DEO GLORIA. Children’s Christmas Program

Question: “What is your intention?”

Faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! The text for our meditation is from the O. T. lesson: “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?’…Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house… And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me. Your throne shall be established forever’” (2 Sam. 7:5,11b, 16).

Saints in Christ, the road to heaven is paved with good intentions. We desire to do what is right. That is why so many of us make resolutions during the New Year saying, “I will make every effort to come to church more often. I will attempt to give more to the Lord and His work. I will do my best to be a better husband/father/grandfather, wife/mother/grandmother. I will read more, watch less TV, and exercise more in the coming year. But we all know that even with our best intentions we don’t carry them out. Though we certainly want too, some how we get distracted.

Unlike us, David in our reading today, had a sincere desire to build a house for the Lord. He wanted all of the Israelites to come and worship the Only True God. He wanted a place specifically where the people of God can bring their petitions and prayers to the throne of Grace. He even said, “I have my own house, shouldn’t God have one too?”

But God wouldn’t permit David to build Him a house. Instead God said to David His servant, “David, you will not build me a house, but I will make you one.” Notice the play on words by our author. David wanted to build “bana” a house. But God wanted to make “asa” a house. David wanted to build a house using materials of wood, stone and metal. But God wouldn’t use anything like this except His loving hands to make this house for David.

God in His divine wisdom wasn’t speaking of a physical building but a dynasty. God the architect of the universe who set the stars, moon and the sun in its place would be the Maker of this house who’s Kingdom and throne will be established forever.

It wouldn’t be David who will build the house, but a distant Son of David who would make this a reality. During this time of the year as we are observing Advent and preparing for Christmas that we see clearly God’s plans unfold in sending the Son of David, Jesus our Savior to come to earth to establish this Kingdom and dynasty that will have no end.

What is beautiful about this text is that it demonstrates that this house that God will make is not one that is according to the will or desire of man, but according to God’s plan. This house will not be built by a military man; leading a revolution against the Romans. But a humble man who comes to bring peace and unity so that all people who believe in Him might be part of the family of God. PAUSE

Through the prophet Micah we read these words: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me
One who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore He shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of His brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth. And He shall be their peace” (Micah 5:2-5).

In Bethlehem the architect of the universe begins His work of making this house a reality. It is in Bethlehem that the Savior was born. Remember that when the wise men came to Herod, they asked, “Where is He who is born King of the Jews?” Herod asked the Jewish leaders and they told him “in Bethlehem of Judah.”

Bethlehem, the place of David’s birth means “the house of bread”. And the Savior of the world, David’s greater Son was born there to make this house of bread last forever. His dynasty and His kingdom will never end. The making of this house was begun in the manger with the birth of the Christ Child, and ended with His death on Calvary’s cross. On the third day, the Savior, Jesus Christ rose victorious from the grave to establish once and for all the house of David that will endure to eternity.

This house has been made, not by human hands, but by the pierced hands of the babe of Bethlehem. He has established it in our hearts by the working of the Holy Spirit, and continues to strengthen this house as He nurtures and feeds it often with His body and blood.

Yet, we sometimes try to let our will take over. We don’t like it when we have a plan, or a desire that doesn’t get fulfilled. We complain to God. We question God and His wisdom. Or we don’t like the events that surround our lives and want to do something that fits us better. PAUSE.

This past week, I got a letter from a friend of mine that brought me to tears. Here is why: “…What really frustrates me and breaks my heart is that I know the enemy is behind all this and we are just the weak pawns bending to his desires to destroy ministry and stop reaching the lost with the Gospel. I just don’t have it in me anymore to stay in the battle and I need some real rest from all of this warfare. Even though there are a few who are aware of my situation and praying for me, even offering whatever help they could, I still feel so isolated and alone – I don’t know how to get real help, I don’t know where to turn for a truly positive solution to this problem.

I really don’t want to throw in the towel,… but this can’t be all of what God intended when He called me to the mission field, can it? Maybe my leadership is correct and I am just not cut out to be a missionary. Lord knows, I want to be, but I can only do so much. Maybe it is just a “bad match”? I have lost the desire to fight and I can’t keep up this pace of what feels like madness to me half the time. I apologize for letting you and the ministry down; this battle is just proving too much for me. PAUSE.

My friend is struggling with real issues here. Fighting for the sake of the Kingdom of God and lost souls. My friend is crying out for help trying to solve the problem alone. But they are forgetting that the battle is not their’s but God’s. It is God’s desire that will be carried out. It is God’s working that will change hearts and heads and homes. It is God’s acts of love which brought His only Son to the manger that will establish my friend and give peace and rest to the weary. It is God’s desire to make a house for us and He has in His Son, Jesus the greater son of David.

Yes, dear friends we all have good intentions to do the right thing. But God is the One who makes it possible to come to fruition in the sending of His Son to be our Savior and establish His house that will last forever.

And the Good news is that house that God has made, is big enough for all people, including you and me. What a blessing during this Fourth Sunday in Advent to know the truth that God is in the business of making of us His home that will know no end. Amen.

Now the peace…